There are a whopping eleven
different characters who you can choose to romance in Mass Effect 3, each of
whom will have different requirements and requests if you opt to pursue their
hearts. Some, like Specialist Traynor, will be simple one night affairs that
can be completed far before the end of the game, while others, such as Liara,
you will have to wait until the end of the game to truly see through. This
guide will cover each character, the requirements for winning their hearts, and
which genders they are available to. Next up is…

Liara T’Soni:

Available Genders: Both male and female Shepards

Requirements:

There are several ways to romance
Liara T’Soni successfully. First, and easiest, of all is to simply pick up your
romance where it left off at the end of the first Mass Effect. It does not
matter if you romanced someone else during Mass Effect 2. This choice will
present itself to you fairly early on in the game, just like it would if you
were romancing Garrus. To do this, and to romance Liara for the first time, you
should speak with her after every mission you complete. During the first
conversation, you can commit to a long term relationship. Speak with her in the
Presidium Commons during the time of relative peace on the Citadel, and
encourage her to take a break from her work now and then. After this, keep
checking your personal email log. It won’t always be at the same time for every
player, but you should receive an email from Liara asking for your input on a
project she has been working on. Head up to your personal quarters and invite
Liara to join you.

She will ask you about a computer
that she has been making in case the Reapers win the war. This computer will
contain all of the data yet known to the galaxy, and it will be planted on
numerous planets across the galaxy. Liara will include data on you, but she
will want to know what you want her to include about yourself. Allow her to
choose her own way of presenting you by sticking to the Paragon conversation
options, and she will write a flattering description of you. This will be your
first opportunity to tell Liara that you want to be more than just friends, but
it won’t always be available to every player. It’s more likely to appear if you
romanced her in the first Mass Effect, as well. Don’t worry if you don’t get
the prompt, as you’ll have another chance. Keep checking your computer to find
another email after the Citadel attack asking you to come visit her in the
Presidium. Find her on the bottom floor of the Commons and ask her to be more
than friends. She will accept the offer with a kiss. Now you will be able to
see Liara’s romance scene before the Priority: Cerberus Headquarters mission.
Note that if you speak with her again before talking to Anderson in the
Priority: Earth mission, you can see another brief scene.

Miranda Lawson:

Available Genders: Only male Shepard

Requirements:

In order to romance Miranda in
Mass Effect 3, you will have to have started a relationship with her in Mass
Effect 2. Check your email frequently to receive an invitation to meet on the
Citadel. You can find her where the Normandy usually docks before the Citadel
is attacked. After you fend off Cerberus from the Citadel, you will receive
another email asking for your help. Meet her in the Presidium Commons
apartments, and choose to begin your relationship again.

Specialist Traynor:

Available Genders: Only female Shepards

Requirements:

Traynor’s romance is one that
occurs fairly early on in the game, so it is one that you have to be sure to
find all of the correct beats for, or you may lose the option to romance her.
Speak with her every chance you get. Each time you finish a critical mission,
you should definitely talk to Specialist Traynor. You should also be warm and
welcoming when she arrives on the Normandy, not cold and distant. After a few
conversations, Traynor will mention her love of chess. After this, you should
be able to find an email in your private terminal asking to play chess
sometime. From this point, you can head up to your private quarters and invite
Traynor up to join you for a game. When she arrives, she will spend an unusual
amount of time admiring your shower. Offer to let her use it and then, when she
is bathing inside, accept her offer to join in to view the romance scene.

Steve Cortez:

Available Genders: Only male Shepards

Requirements:

To romance Steve Cortez, just talk
with him in the Engineering Bay as much as possible. When you first explore the
Normandy, don’t neglect to head down and talk with him for the first
significant conversation. In a second conversation, you will find him crying
over a recording. Speak with him to discover that the recording is the last
from his ex-husband, who died during the Collector attack. Suggest that he take
some time to relax on the Citadel. Later, you can find Cortez in the Docking
Bay on the Citadel. Speak with him here, as well as in the refugee camp later
on. After speaking with him in both the Docking Bay and the refugee camp, he
will then head over to Purgatory. Speak with him here to commit to a
relationship.

Tali’Zorah

Available Genders: Only male Shepards

Requirements:

First things first, you must have
started a relationship with Tali in Mass Effect 2 in order to continue it here.
For whatever reason, although females could romance her in the last game, only
male players can do so this time around. After the Priority: Geth Dreadnought
mission, talk to Tali and ask her to begin your relationship anew. This won’t
be the clincher, though, as you can still romance other people at this point. You
will have to wait for a very specific moment before Priority: Rannoch to close
the deal. Complete some side missions (Legion and Tali will both give you
missions to complete in this section) and wait for an email to pop up in your
terminal. Head up to your private quarters and invite Tali to join you. Ask her
to be your girlfriend. This is the only chance in the entire game that you will
have to make Tali your girlfriend, so if you asked earlier but failed to
commit, you had might as well start working on someone else.

You will still have to complete a
few more requirements to see the romance scene, though. Speak with Tali on the
Citadel, again before Priority: Rannoch, and then make the choice favoring the
quarians during the Rannoch mission (if you don’t, a grim fate awaits Tali.)
Then, wait until you complete the Priority: Cerberus Headquarters mission, and
speak with Tali, who will be accompanied by Garrus, in the Normandy’s Crew
Quarters lounge. This scene will become a romance scene in and of itself if you
choose to leave Tali or Garrus hanging, as they will drunkenly try to romance
each other. Otherwise, you should be able to obtain a picture of Tali without
her mask on.

Thane

Available Genders: Only female Shepards

Requirements:

You will have to have romanced
Thane in Mass Effect 2 in order to do so in 3. Since he doesn’t really spend
any time aboard the Normandy, this is a relatively fast romance. Simply accept
the email offer that you will receive early in the game to meet with him on the
Citadel. If you romanced Thane in Mass Effect 2, you will have to option to
interrupt his greeting with a kiss. You will be able to speak with Thane a few
more times after this, but be sure to do so before the beginning of Act 2.

Tali was not a romance option for females in ME2. Traynor is the only lesbian romance option there has ever been considering that Ash has datafiles to support her being bisexual but that option was cut from the game and Liara is technically genderless.